About the Festival
Lariss and Adalgard were both equally ecstatic. Thelora and I, while swept up in the excitement, had no idea what was going on. As the crowd's cheering started to die down I heard a few people refer to the man on the stage as Union Master Alfarund. So that's him? From the way he held himself and the strength he presented I could tell why people followed him.
"Alright, quiet down. Just because we're going to have a festival doesn't mean we can ignore our duties as Adventurers. Right now there are dozens of quests that require our immediate attention. It's going to take a great deal of cooperation to get them done in time. The senior representatives will be assigning quests to parties based on their skill and distance.
"That means some of you might be getting D ranked quests that are further away but you have the skill and transportation method to get them done in time. I don't want to hear A and B rankers complaining about any of this. We'll need your help to make sure the north is safe before we're all off celebrating. Also, keep in mind that the festival will just be starting in two weeks, that doesn't mean the main competitions will start then.
"The festival will last two weeks. The first week will be minor games and parties. It will be the second week where the true fun begins. So if the quest you're assigned takes a bit of time, don't worry, you won't miss the fun.
"Our main camp will be outside the village of Blueash. Once your quests are done you can head in that direction, just try not to congest the roads too much and bring your own food for travel. The inns along the way might not be able to keep up with all of us headed in the same direction." After he concluded his speech he stepped down from the stage and everyone began talking in their small groups at once.
"Adalgard. Am I to assume that you'll be questing and forming a team with our young Wilmaer here?" Ludolf came over to us right away.
"Yes, it's possible the Elder Watchers need us together before the festival but we might as well plan for us being together through it as well." She said.
"Pitty, it'll take us longer to get there and I'd prefer any of your wins to be completely belonging to the Silver Tongues. Any chance I could get all of you to sign up before this momentous occasion?" Ludolf asked.
"No, but if we receive any glory, I'll be sure to recognize your guild's contributions." I said.
After he left I turned to the others. "So someone's going to have to explain this festival to Thelora and I."
"First off the Gylltaine Stag is a powerful Spirit second only to the Tree of the True Spirit in the north. It's not as well known outside the north because it doesn't bless people in the same way as most spirits. Other Spirits will provide their blessings and guidance almost year round and usually have witches to perform their rites for them. The Gylltaine Stag only shows up every decade or so. It provides blessings based on competitions held during the festival." Lariss explained.
"Every S ranked adventurer in the north has received the Gylltaine Stag's blessing. Ludolf and many of the major guild leaders have also received a blessing." Adalgard said.
"What type of competitions are there?" Thelora asked.
"As the Union Master said, the first week are minor games like archery contests, races, wrestling, things like that. There are even ones specifically for non aura or magic users. Winners will receive small blessings from those, so B rankers and above don't enter them. It's the second week where things get interesting." Lariss said.
"The first three days are individual competitions separated by rank. The next three are team competitions based on the overall rank of those involved. It's the last three days that are really special, that's when the hunt for the Gylltaine Stag takes place." Adalgard said.
"Wait, we're going to hunt the Great Spirit?" I said.
"No ones going to kill it. Very few even could. It's one of the most powerful entities in the kingdom." Lariss said.
"All you have to do is hit it with an attack." Adalgard said.
"Which, since it's a powerful Spirit, means that it won't be that easy." Thelora said.
"Correct. Though it will usually allow a few people to hit it, so if no one has in the first two days it will appear before those it deems worthy and gives them a chance." Adalgard said.
"Have either of you been to the festival before?" I asked.
"My parents took me when I was little. It was…" Lariss' smile split a little. "It is one of my happiest memories."
"Unfortunately I didn't come to the north until after its last appearance but I've been looking forward to this since I heard about it. While the Lady of Twisted Fates could have anything prepared for us, I'm hoping that you'll help me get to the Gylltaine Stag." Adalgard said.
Yeah, based on prior experience with those I share a spirit mark with, it might not be that simple. Plus she'll be in for a bit of a surprise when she learns it was my blessing, not hers, that's binding us together.
"Thank goodness you're all together. I have your pre festival quest and I was able to get a good one." Borhildr approached our table.
"I should seek out Raginhard for mine." I said as I stood up.
"He won't have one for you. All junior representatives are being assigned to help with setting up the games at the moment. Their freelancers have been temporarily transferred to others for the festival." Her wide smile told me who I had temporarily been transferred to.
"So what do you have for us?" Adalgard asked.
"I don't think we've met. I'm Borhildr, I represent these fine adventurers." She extended her hand which Adalgard enthusiastically took it.
"I'm Adalgard of the Silver Tongues. Fate has attached me to this guy, so I'll be along for the ride." She replied.
"Does that mean you'll be a part of our team for the competitions?" I could tell Borhildr's smile was slipping a little as she was trying to figure out if her freelancers were about to be recruited right out from under her.
"Yep. I'm not fully sure what we're meant to do together but I'll stick around through the festival or until we get done what the Elder Watchers want us to do." Adalgard said.
"Fantastic. Kay and Sundri aren't in the Union but they are in the city. As soon as they get here you can set off for the village of Hillshore. They've been having some trouble with vatnr foxes and you'll be taking care of them." Borhildr said.
In the north monsters that were similar to normal animals except for an elemental trait were all named similarly. Vatnr were water monsters, jordr were earth, breldur were fire, and rumluf were air. It was a lot easier than in other areas where each monster had its own unique name. This meant we were taking care of foxes related to the water element.
"Argh, can't we do something else?" Lariss complained.
"This won't be that hard with our group, plus Hillshore is only three days south of Blueash so you'll be able to get to the festival before it begins. I can't stress how helpful that will be to our odds." Borhildr said.
"Are they really that difficult to handle?" I asked.
"Yes. I can't track things through water and those little… bastards like to jump in and out of any water source. And since we'll be in the lake district, water sources are everywhere." Lariss said.
Borhildr left us with a scroll detailing our quest and went to help get the Union ready for the festival. As we waited for the other two to show up, Raginhard quickly came up to me.
"Sorry I couldn't get to you earlier, despite how it appears everything is very chaotic. The senior representatives think we needed to have everything already set up to go before the announcement." Raginhard said. I was a little taken back, since this was the first time I heard him complain in this way.
"That's fine. If you're here to tell me that Borhildr will be my temporary representative, she beat you to it. But I want to make it clear that once this is over, I want you back in charge of me." I said.
"Well, she is efficient. I also came to bring you this. It wasn't easy to get and unfortunately it cost twice as much as I had hoped. If you still desire it, I'll take the funds out of your Union account." He handed over a small box with a few simple preservation runes.
Inside was a black heart that gave off shadow energy, I could even make out some slight crystallization showing that it almost turned into a monster core. It was more than enough for me to create a second shadow mote and if I was lucky, I might even be able to create two.
"Thank you. Hopefully we'll be able to see each other at the festival." I said.
"While that would be nice, at events like this junior representatives often have a great deal of grunt work to do behind the scenes." He had returned to his normal controlled self by this point with only slight irritation in his eyes.
We bid farewell to each other and a short time later Kay and Sundri showed up. The six of us made plans for our quest and agreed to set out tomorrow morning for the village of Hillshore.